Let's not talk about how Jing Chen and Xue Rui entered the palace to disturb the court. After Yu Shu escaped from the cellar, she found herself in the north of the city. The first thing she thought of was to go to the Princess Mansion to ask for help. In the early morning, not even a covered carriage could be seen on the street. Her clothes were messy and her hands and feet were bloody. She had scruples and did not dare to walk on the main road. She could only rely on her two legs to run and stop. She found her way to the door of the Princess Mansion and collapsed in front of the steps. She took out the jade Linglong that Jing Chen gave her a few days ago and threw it to the guard who came forward to drive her away.
"Quick, take me to see your Young Master …"
Several guards outside the Princess Mansion looked at each other. No wonder they did not recognize Jing Chen's token. In fact, they were the people that Liu Tan transferred from the guesthouse. Those from the Princess Mansion had already been sent out to look for her.
Fortunately, there was someone who understood. He picked up the jade Linglong and asked the others to look after Yu Shu. Then he turned around and went inside to report to Liu Tan.
Liu Tan was walking back and forth in the living room. One moment he was worried about Shui Yun's safety, the next moment he was worried about whether Xue Rui and Jing Chen's entry into the palace was smooth or not. Suddenly, he heard the guard outside reporting that a girl in a sorry state with bloodstains was lying outside the door. She was asking to see Daozi. He was shocked and immediately took the jade Linglong in front of him. Seeing that it was a pass from the Princess Mansion, he already had an eighty percent guess about the girl's identity. He was about to walk out. When he crossed the threshold, he saw the same thing in the east. His eyelids twitched and his footsteps also slowed down.
"Did you see the girl's appearance clearly?" Liu Tan held the jade Linglong and asked the guard who came to report in a deep voice.
The guard gave a rough description of Yu Shu's appearance. Liu Tan had seen Yu Shu before. Now he confirmed who it was. His expression became complicated. He looked up at the rising sun outside the wall and his eyes became deep for a moment.
"Bring her here."
The guard hurriedly took the order and ran out.
Yu Shu only had one breakfast yesterday. First, she knocked her head heavily when she ran away with Shui Yun in the teahouse. Then, she was tied in a sack and bounced all the way. Then, she was frozen in the cellar for a night. Her lips were blue from the cold and her body could not bear it. It was already his limit to run all the way to the Princess Residence. He didn't even have the strength to say a word. He lay on the steps, coughing and panting. She allowed the two guards to step forward, one on the left and one on the right, to lift her up and bring her to the living room.
"Yu?" Liu Tan walked quickly and tentatively called out.
Yu Shu raised her head in a daze. When she saw the man's face, she thought of Shui Yun, who was still in the cellar. She felt as if her brain had been pricked by a needle. "Prince," Yu Yu Yu's Yu's Yu, "Ling Ling Ling" Ling "Yu"
"Liu Tian" Ling "Yu" Yu "Yu" and "Ling" Yu "s" Yu "and" Ling "Yu Yu" Yu "and" Yu "do" Yu " "Where is she?"
"Ahem, she's here. I'll take you — —" Yu Shu didn't finish her sentence. Yu Shu's body suddenly stiffened. She felt a numbness in her shoulders and head, and then she lost consciousness. Before she fainted, she heard someone shouting in panic.
"Miss Yu, Miss Yu!"
Liu Tan squatted down to support Yu Shu, who had fainted. His eyes were red from staying up all night. He glared at the two bodyguards who were at a loss as to what to do, "Quickly go and get the doctor!"
"Yes!"
*
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*
While Yu Shu was unconscious, Xue Rui and Jing Chen had just entered the front court of the imperial palace with a token. Jing Chen led the way. No one stopped them until they were outside the Hall of Imperial Brilliance. They were stopped by the cold-faced imperial guards and ordered to retreat. Jing Chen ignored them and said that he wanted to see the emperor. In addition, Xue Rui deliberately raised his voice, so many of the officials in the hall heard the noise outside.
After some twists and turns, the emperor summoned them into the hall. When he saw that the one leading the way was his nephew, the coldness on his face dissipated. He still looked displeased, but he allowed them to speak.
Jing Chen wasn't good with words. As soon as he opened his mouth, he pointed out that one of the princes had kidnapped Shui Yun yesterday and wanted them to release her. Xue Rui added on from the side and explained everything. He included how he happened to pass by the princess's residence yesterday and saw the imperial guards looking for Shui Yun in a hurry. He didn't reveal anything.
One was his nephew, and the other was his nephew. The emperor believed seventy to eighty percent of their words. How could this be!
The An Dynasty had respected Taoism for three hundred years. Mount Longhu was the holy land of Taoism. The Taiyi Sect was flourishing. The daughter of a Zhenren was kidnapped by his son under the emperor's nose. Wouldn't the imperial court lose face if it was spread out?
The emperor was furious. He glared at his sons and secretly scolded them for being disappointing. They didn't want to lose their family's shame in the imperial court, but they couldn't get out of it. In order to prevent the officials from talking about it, he could only scold them and ask questions.
The princes were listening to the emperor's teachings in the morning court. Suddenly, they were criticized by Jing Chen in public. One by one, they walked out from the left side of the officials with red faces and cupped their fists to defend themselves.
But how could this matter be explained clearly with just a few words? Jing Chen insisted that they were the ones who captured the people, and Xue Rui interjected with a few words at the right time. In the end, for some unknown reason, the Emperor gave the order to send people to search the courtyards in the Princes' Residences. With a casual point of his finger, this task fell onto Xue Rui's head.
The princes who thought they were innocent were already anxious. Which mansion didn't have some secrets? How could they just ask people to search so openly?
However, the emperor's words were like gold and jade. The imperial edict had been issued. Who dared to disobey it? Even though the officials in the imperial court wanted to persuade them, they were afraid of getting into trouble. They wanted to say something, but they didn't dare to do so. As a result, the unlucky princes were left in the Hall of Tai Brilliance, waiting for people to come to their courtyards.
Liu Haozheng was among them. Compared to his other brothers, he was much more indignant and wronged after being suspected by the Emperor. However, when his gaze swept past Xue Rui and Jing Chen, a trace of coldness unconsciously flashed past his eyes. He had not expected that these two people would make a ruckus until the morning court session, and it disrupted his original plans.
Fortunately, he had already made arrangements. This time, one of them had to be implicated.
Xue Rui didn't expect things to go so smoothly. He came without an announcement and intruded into the morning court. He had come with the intention of getting beaten. Who knew that the emperor didn't even scold him. Instead, he said everything and went along with Jing Chen.
A trace of suspicion was buried in Xue Rui's heart, but he didn't think too much about it. He glanced at his grandfather, who was standing at the head of the officials, from afar. Seeing that the old man was looking straight ahead and was standing with his head lowered, Xue Rui secretly muttered that he would be reprimanded after this. He knelt down to accept the imperial edict and pulled Jing Chen away.
*
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Xue Rui and Jing Chen's trip to the imperial palace took almost two hours. By the time they received the imperial edict and returned to the princess's residence, the sun had already risen.
Liu Tan was anxiously waiting in the front courtyard. As soon as he saw them return, he didn't have time to ask if their trip had gone smoothly. Instead, he said with a terrible expression on his face, "Miss Yu just came back. She's unconscious, so we couldn't ask where Junior Martial Aunt is being held!"
"Where is she now?!" Xue Rui and Jing Chen asked in unison.
"She's in the back wing. The doctor is — —"
Jing Chen didn't wait for him to finish speaking. He stuffed the imperial edict into Liu Tan's hands and quickly ran to the back courtyard.
Liu Tan held the imperial edict in his hand and lowered his head in a daze. Then, he heard Xue Rui ask in a deep voice, "Your Imperial Highness, did my sworn sister get hurt?"
Liu Tan came back to his senses and smiled bitterly, "She didn't get hurt. She was just too shocked and fainted from exhaustion. However, there was blood on her body. I'm afraid, afraid that it was Junior Martial Aunt's. "
When Xue Rui heard that Yu Shu was fine, he finally felt relieved. As for Shui Yun, he didn't have the mind to care about it. He secretly sighed in relief and looked in the direction of the back courtyard. He didn't follow Jing Chen there. Instead, he thought about something else. His expression changed, and he pressed down on the imperial edict in Liu Tan's hand. In a low voice, he told him what had happened in the morning court.
Liu Tan's eyebrows twitched as he listened. In the end, his voice changed in surprise, "Imperial Father ordered you to search their residence?"
Xue Rui nodded. Liu Tan hesitated, "It's good if Miss Yu is awake. She can show you the way and save you the trouble of offending people. However, we don't know when she will wake up. If we delay for too long, I'm afraid that Junior Martial Aunt will be in trouble. I, I …"
Xue Rui saw that he was in a dilemma. He frowned and opened his mouth to persuade him. However, he suddenly remembered the advice of his grandfather, Xue Lingnan, so he didn't say anything and waited for him to make a decision.
Liu Tan saw that Xue Rui didn't want to answer. He hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and pushed the imperial edict forward. A touch of determination appeared between his eyebrows, "Thank you, Cousin."
Xue Rui looked at the young man in front of him who seemed to have grown a few years older overnight. In his memory, there was always a quiet and clingy child beside Imperial Concubine Consort. His vision became blurred. He gently pursed his lips and his eyes flashed. He took the edict in his hand and said softly, "I'll arrange it. Your Highness, listen to me."
Liu Tan looked at him gratefully. He didn't know why. Looking at Xue Rui's back as he left, the previous struggle and regret in his heart disappeared.
*
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*
Holding the imperial edict in his hand, Xue Rui led a few groups of imperial guards to search from the Prince's Mansion in the north of the city. They searched the mansions one by one, and in addition to the clues they already had, they finally found Shui Yun in the cellar of a deserted mansion in the evening.
And this mansion was under the name of the Fourth Prince, Jia Wang Liu Si.
Xue Rui sent people to carefully carry Shui Yun back to the Princess's Mansion. He turned around and reported to the Palace.
After the Emperor heard this, he called Liu Si to the Imperial Study and smashed an inkstone on his head. Half of Liu Si's face was swollen. He was panic-stricken and didn't know what to do. He knelt down and cried out that he was wronged, but he was powerless to clear his name. In a rage, the Emperor stripped him of his title and demoted him to a third-class Duke. He ordered him to pack up and go to the Qianzhou in the south to reflect.
At this point, the princes who had stood in the Hall of Tai Brilliance for a whole day were allowed to leave the Palace and return to their mansions.
After Xue Rui reported his orders, he brought along two imperial physicians and rushed back to the Princess's Mansion without stopping. He followed the servants to the wing room in the backyard to treat Shui Yun. On the way there, he inquired about Shui Yun and found out that Yu Shu was still unconscious.
Yu Shu and Shui Yun were arranged to live in the same courtyard. There were two doors on the east and the west. At a glance, Xue Rui knew that the person lying in the room Liu Tan was guarding outside the door was Shui Yun. He glanced at the deserted room outside the door and hesitated for a moment. Then he went to Liu Tan and comforted him.
Liu Tan's expression was gloomy. He smiled bitterly at Xue Rui and blamed himself, "Martial Uncle is inside to treat Youngest Martial Aunt. He said that it would be difficult for her to walk for the rest of her life. Fortunately, Miss Yu stopped her bleeding. Otherwise … her hands and feet would have been crippled."
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